it involved money. The total cost of
the project was agreed at £12,000

0:03:37

0:03:42

but the salesman wanted
an upfront payment.

0:03:42

0:03:47

Consumers must be careful about
paying too much money upfront.

0:03:47

0:03:50

It might appear work is undertaken
and the contract is going well,

0:03:50

0:03:54

if you pay too much
and the trader disappears

0:03:54

0:03:56

and fails to come back,
you will be out of pocket.

0:03:56

0:03:59

How much was the initial
down payment, John?

0:03:59

0:04:03

£3,450.

0:04:03

0:04:06

At this stage, John had no
idea the people

0:04:06

0:04:09

he was dealing with were anything
other than professional.

0:04:09

0:04:12

In fact, two workmen arrived on his
doorstep a few days later.

0:04:12

0:04:16

They went up in the attic,

0:04:17

0:04:19

and spent a couple of hours
up there.

0:04:19

0:04:21

They came down and
pointed out to me,

0:04:21

0:04:25

a length of electric wire
hanging down in my cupboard,

0:04:25

0:04:31

in the hall,
saying that it was all finished.

0:04:31

0:04:36

The two men explained to John
that all the electrics

0:04:36

0:04:39

were now in place, ready for
the solar panel installation

0:04:39

0:04:43

and, of course, further payments
would therefore be required.

0:04:43

0:04:47

I gave them the second payment
of 3,500.

0:04:48

0:04:54

-OK, so you're nearly £7,000 down
at this stage.

-6,950.

0:04:54

0:05:01

Spot-on.

0:05:01

0:05:02

The two men were so convincing
that John had willingly paid

0:05:04

0:05:07

more than half the cost
of the £12,000 installation.

0:05:07

0:05:11

As yet, not one solar panel
had made it into his house,

0:05:11

0:05:14

but John had no reason to believe
that anything was wrong.

0:05:14

0:05:18

Trading Standards find the elderly

0:05:20

0:05:21

and vulnerable are particularly
targeted by scams on the doorstep.

0:05:21

0:05:25

They come from a trusting
background,

0:05:25

0:05:28

they don't like saying no,
they don't like being rude.

0:05:28

0:05:32

That kindliness and friendliness
is ruthlessly exploited

0:05:32

0:05:35

by the scammers.

0:05:35

0:05:37

Having met John,
I can tell you, he's no fool.

0:05:37

0:05:40

He's even had experience
working with criminals.

0:05:40

0:05:43

Spending an incredible
31 years of his life

0:05:43

0:05:45

working for the Prison Service,

0:05:45

0:05:47

he was dedicated to helping
rehabilitate prisoners.

0:05:47

0:05:51

Why did you stick with it
for so long?

0:05:51

0:05:55

Well, I felt that I could
and should help.

0:05:56

0:06:02

These people, in my view,
needed a second chance.

0:06:02

0:06:07

With years of experience like that,

0:06:08

0:06:11

you'd think John would know
a criminal when he met one.

0:06:11

0:06:13

The reality is that he was dealing
with a very clever scammer.

0:06:13

0:06:18

My nephew visited,
and he went up into the attic,

0:06:18

0:06:24

which I couldn't do,

0:06:24

0:06:26

to see what had been done.
He took several pictures.

0:06:26

0:06:31

He discovered that all
they had done, really,

0:06:34

0:06:36

was to put a few lengths of wire,
attached to the beams,

0:06:36

0:06:41

running nowhere,
connected to nothing.

0:06:41

0:06:45

And left one hanging down in
my cupboard as a final effort

0:06:45

0:06:52

to persuade me
the work had been completed.

0:06:52

0:06:55

Feeling confused by the situation,

0:06:56

0:06:59

John wanted to put a halt
to things immediately.

0:06:59

0:07:02

I didn't want anything else to do
with the firm.

0:07:02

0:07:05

I would rather have my money back.

0:07:05

0:07:07

So John called one of the directors
of the company,

0:07:07

0:07:10

and they said they'd
come out and assess the work,

0:07:10

0:07:12

but John stood firm, and stated

0:07:12

0:07:14

that he just wanted his money back,

0:07:14

0:07:16

and that was the last time
he spoke to them.

0:07:16

0:07:18

He has been shielded by those
that worked with him in the office.

0:07:18

0:07:25

He was either off sick,
out of the office,

0:07:25

0:07:30

or on the phone or something.

0:07:30

0:07:33

With help from his nephew, he did
some research into the company,

0:07:34

0:07:37

and discovered one of the directors
had recently been barred

0:07:37

0:07:41

from running
a company for ten years.

0:07:41

0:07:43

It came as no surprise

0:07:43

0:07:44

when the company he'd been dealing
with soon went into liquidation.

0:07:44

0:07:47

John's lost nearly £7,000,

0:07:47

0:07:50

but the damage
is not just financial.

0:07:50

0:07:53

The whole experience has left him
feeling completely shocked

0:07:53

0:07:56

and confused.

0:07:56

0:07:58

It's, umm....

0:08:02

0:08:05

-I'm sorry, I can't.

-It's OK.

0:08:05

0:08:08

Do you want to take some time, John?

0:08:08

0:08:10

It's a poor reflection...
really, of mankind.

0:08:20

0:08:26

We should be better than that.

0:08:28

0:08:31

I'm sorry.

0:08:31

0:08:33

I think that everybody watching this
would agree with you.

0:08:36

0:08:42

I think the people
that we're dealing with here

0:08:42

0:08:46

are a tiny minority,

0:08:46

0:08:49

who can have a devastating effect
on somebody like yourself.

0:08:49

0:08:55

But I also think, John,
that by doing this, hopefully,

0:08:58

0:09:03

other people will be forewarned.

0:09:03

0:09:05

I hope so.

0:09:05

0:09:08

He's bringing nothing but misery to
people. It's not the way to live.

0:09:08

0:09:13

After falling for this scam,
John has noticed a sharp increase

0:09:18

0:09:22

in the number of cold calls
he gets every day,

0:09:22

0:09:24

with a variety of sales reps
attempting

0:09:24

0:09:27

to flog him their services.

0:09:27

0:09:29

He even receives one before I leave.

0:09:29

0:09:31

You're a claims management company?

0:09:35

0:09:38

You're calling speculatively to find
out if my friend has any loans

0:09:38

0:09:45

or mortgages
that are being paid off?

0:09:45

0:09:48

I'm going to be very clear with you
now, OK? You need to listen

0:09:48

0:09:53

very carefully. Don't ever call this
number again, do you understand?

0:09:53

0:09:58

It's just such a shame that,
at this time of your life,

0:10:02

0:10:06

you've come into contact with
one group of unscrupulous people

0:10:06

0:10:12

that seem to have changed
your outlook.

0:10:12

0:10:14

I feel extremely sorry for anyone
who is duped in the same way,

0:10:14

0:10:22

very sorry.

0:10:22

0:10:24

This certainly isn't the first time
Trading Standards

0:10:27

0:10:30

have dealt with a case like this,
and it won't be the last.

0:10:30

0:10:33

So you should be aware of what you
can do to protect yourself.

0:10:33

0:10:37

The best advice is not
to just deal with one company,

0:10:37

0:10:40

try and get quotations
from three or four companies.

0:10:40

0:10:43

If you're dealing with
a reputable company,

0:10:43

0:10:45

they shouldn't expect a big deposit
upfront on that day.

0:10:45

0:10:48

They'll give you time
to think about it.

0:10:48

0:10:50

They should send a surveyor to make
sure your property's suitable

0:10:50

0:10:53

for solar panels.

0:10:53

0:10:55

If you feel obliged to pay some
money, it's always worth considering

0:10:55

0:10:58

using your credit card.

0:10:58

0:11:00

You have protection under
the Consumer Credit Act

0:11:00

0:11:02

if things go wrong,

0:11:02

0:11:03

so do try and make payment or
partial payment using that method.

0:11:03

0:11:07

Nobody likes thinking about
writing a will,

0:11:11

0:11:14

but it's essential so that
our loved ones are provided for

0:11:14

0:11:18

when we go.

0:11:18

0:11:19

Choose the wrong will writer

0:11:19

0:11:21

and you could end up providing for a
lot of people you never intended to.

0:11:21

0:11:25

There are many ways to write a will,
including using solicitors,

0:11:28

0:11:32

going online,
and by using will writers.

0:11:32

0:11:35

And there are many reputable
will-writing companies,

0:11:35

0:11:38

providing a host of benefits, such
as advice on how to write a will,

0:11:38

0:11:42

as well as the safe storage
of your will.

0:11:42

0:11:45

But frustratingly it's an area
that is unregulated.

0:11:45

0:11:50

This is very difficult for the
public to actually understand

0:11:50

0:11:53

and really identify whether the will
writer they've got is someone who is

0:11:53

0:11:59

a very proper person
who is going to do a good job,

0:11:59

0:12:03

or it is a person who is perhaps
coming to the business

0:12:03

0:12:06

from a completely different sector,

0:12:06

0:12:08

hasn't done any training,
hasn't got insurance.

0:12:08

0:12:10

They still call themselves
will writers.

0:12:10

0:12:13

And sadly, having an unregulated
industry can allow fraudsters

0:12:13

0:12:17

the opportunity to come knocking,
as far too many people find out.

0:12:17

0:12:22

In 2006, Lincolnshire Police
became aware of a firm

0:12:23

0:12:27

that had jumped on
the will-writing bandwagon,

0:12:27

0:12:30

extracting thousands of pounds
from innocent victims.

0:12:30

0:12:33

This was just simple theft,
it's as simple as that.

0:12:33

0:12:36

It was all hidden away
in quite a complex manner,

0:12:36

0:12:40

but the nuts and bolts of it all
is stealing, it's theft.

0:12:40

0:12:43

Mary Neenan from Birmingham
had been a close friend

0:12:43

0:12:46

to an elderly gentleman called
Bert Reeves.

0:12:46

0:12:49

Helping to keep his house
clean and tidy,

0:12:49

0:12:51

she offered him
a great deal of support

0:12:51

0:12:53

over the last decade of his life.

0:12:53

0:12:55

He became like my dad.

0:12:55

0:12:57

My girls came with me
when I went to see him.

0:12:57

0:13:00

We had him here for his birthdays,
we did birthday parties,

0:13:00

0:13:05

so he became like my father
and their grandad.

0:13:05

0:13:08

Bert's wife had passed away
some years before,

0:13:09

0:13:12

and he didn't have any
immediate family,

0:13:12

0:13:14

so when he reached his 90s,

0:13:14

0:13:16

he set about
getting his affairs in order.

0:13:16

0:13:19

Responding to an advert,
Bert employed the services

0:13:19

0:13:22

of the company
Willmakers of Distinction Ltd

0:13:22

0:13:25

to assist him in writing a will.

0:13:25

0:13:27

He wanted to leave his estate
to his niece, his neighbour

0:13:27

0:13:30

and Mary, but he kept this a secret.

0:13:30

0:13:34

Six months after Bert passed away,

0:13:34

0:13:36

Mary was beginning to move
on with her life.

0:13:36

0:13:38

But then, out of the blue,
she received a surprise phone call.

0:13:38

0:13:42

That's when I discovered, when the
solicitor that was selling the house

0:13:45

0:13:48

was having problems selling it,

0:13:48

0:13:50

that's when I discovered
that I was a beneficiary.

0:13:50

0:13:52

Without Mary's knowledge,
Bert had left her nearly £40,000.

0:13:52

0:13:59

But she'd had no contact
from Willmakers of Distinction.

0:13:59

0:14:04

Digging out their number,
she left messages

0:14:04

0:14:07

for a director, Nicholas Butcher.

0:14:07

0:14:08

But she was getting no response.

0:14:08

0:14:11

When I told Mr Butcher that I knew
that I was a beneficiary,

0:14:11

0:14:17

um, and all of that,

0:14:17

0:14:20

then when I contacted him after
I told him that, he never replied.

0:14:20

0:14:24

And it wasn't long before Mary
started having concerns.

0:14:24

0:14:30

There was something going wrong,
there was something not happening.

0:14:30

0:14:33

Not getting any answers
from Willmakers of Distinction,

0:14:33

0:14:37

she had no option
but to call the police.

0:14:37

0:14:40

She was soon put in touch
with Neil Hollingsworth

0:14:40

0:14:43

from the Lincolnshire force.

0:14:43

0:14:45

There was a guy, Nicholas Butcher.
He'd been to prison and come out.

0:14:45

0:14:49

We'd been given intelligence

0:14:49

0:14:50

that he was working for
Willmakers of Distinction Ltd,

0:14:50

0:14:53

which is pretty much the area in
which he'd committed criminality.

0:14:53

0:14:59

So we'd had concerns,
if I can say that.

0:14:59

0:15:03

However, nothing ever came of it,

0:15:03

0:15:05

but of course when we first get this
report from the lady in Birmingham,

0:15:05

0:15:09

that it's Willmakers of Distinction
Ltd, we immediately think

0:15:09

0:15:13

this is where Nicholas Butcher's
working, so there were concerns.

0:15:13

0:15:17

With Butcher's name
ringing in his ears,

0:15:17

0:15:19

Neil quickly went to visit Mary
to try and piece together

0:15:19

0:15:22

what happened in the lead-up
to Bert's death.

0:15:22

0:15:24

Mary told Neil about the day

0:15:26

0:15:28

she discovered
he'd decided to make a will.

0:15:28

0:15:30

I let the gentleman into his house.
When I discovered what he was doing,

0:15:30

0:15:35

I thought, I don't want
to be involved in this.

0:15:35

0:15:37

This is his own personal,
private business.

0:15:37

0:15:40

So I left him
to get on with doing the will.

0:15:40

0:15:42

Mary headed upstairs to clean,
giving Bert some privacy,

0:15:42

0:15:46

and the will was signed and sealed.

0:15:46

0:15:48

The advert in Bert's local paper was
offering wills for just £19.99.

0:15:48

0:15:53

If a company, a will-writing
company,

0:15:55

0:15:58

is offering knockdown-price wills
for £20, £25,

0:15:58

0:16:02

the question that must be asked is,
how are they making money?

0:16:02

0:16:05

They may want to try and sell extra
products to boost up the price.

0:16:05

0:16:12

Neil wanted to find out

0:16:12

0:16:13

if Bert had parted with any more
during his meeting

0:16:13

0:16:16

and asked Mary
if she remembered anything.

0:16:16

0:16:20

He'd asked me to go and get
some money from his safe,

0:16:20

0:16:24

and that was...
I brought him down over £200.

0:16:24

0:16:27

It was obvious that Willmakers
of Distinction

0:16:27

0:16:30

had got Bert to sign up
for more than just a basic will.

0:16:30

0:16:33

So what exactly had he signed up to?

0:16:33

0:16:36

They may want to be
appointed as executors to control

0:16:38

0:16:42

the assets once the person has died.

0:16:42

0:16:44

That's exactly what happened.

0:16:44

0:16:48

Once in his house, the salesman
from Willmakers of Distinction

0:16:48

0:16:51

had convinced Bert that he could
rely on them to follow through

0:16:51

0:16:55

with his last wishes.

0:16:55

0:16:57

The reason he made them executors
was not to trouble anybody else,

0:16:58

0:17:02

and he put his full trust in this
gentleman that done the will.

0:17:02

0:17:06

Soon after, Bert became ill,
and he passed the details

0:17:06

0:17:10

of Willmakers of Distinction Ltd
to Mary

0:17:10

0:17:13

so she'd know who to phone
upon his death.

0:17:13

0:17:15

Sadly, a few months later, Bert was
transferred into a care home,

0:17:17

0:17:21

where he died.

0:17:21

0:17:22

Mary still had no idea that she'd
been written into his will,

0:17:23

0:17:26

but doing the right thing,
she informed people of his death.

0:17:26

0:17:31

I contacted Willmakers of Distinction
after I'd sorted out his funeral.

0:17:31

0:17:36

And I spoke to a Mr Butcher.

0:17:36

0:17:38

As Willmakers of Distinction
were now in charge of Bert's estate,

0:17:39

0:17:43

Nicholas Butcher soon arranged
to meet Mary, to get hold of Bert's

0:17:43

0:17:47

personal details, including his
bank account information.

0:17:47

0:17:53

We just went to the pub across the
road and had lunch together.

0:17:53

0:17:56

He seemed quite a nice gentleman.

0:17:56

0:18:01

Throughout the lunch, the contents
of Bert's will was never

0:18:01

0:18:05

mentioned to Mary.

0:18:05

0:18:07

Butcher took the details
and quietly went on his way.

0:18:07

0:18:11

Some months later, Mary received
a call from the solicitor,

0:18:11

0:18:14

informing her that Bert had left her
a third of his estate...

0:18:14

0:18:18

with an approximate value
of £40,000.

0:18:18

0:18:22

After leaving numerous
messages for Nicholas Butcher

0:18:22

0:18:25

and receiving no reply,
Mary called the police.

0:18:25

0:18:28

My problem was
there was three people

0:18:28

0:18:32

that were beneficiaries to a will,

0:18:32

0:18:34

and that the amount of money
that we would have all received

0:18:34

0:18:38

would have been a life-changing
amount of money for all of us.

0:18:38

0:18:41

Neil was shocked but not surprised
to hear that

0:18:41

0:18:45

Bert's money had vanished.

0:18:45

0:18:47

He wanted to find out where Bert's
money was and why it hadn't yet

0:18:47

0:18:51

been given
to his chosen beneficiaries.

0:18:51

0:18:53

Hoping to get some quick answers,
he headed straight for

0:18:53

0:18:56

the offices of Willmakers of
Distinction Ltd.

0:18:56

0:18:59

I was hoping to rather find that
it was still there, and that there

0:18:59

0:19:02

was an easy explanation for all
of this, of course.

0:19:02

0:19:05

The point is, when I got there,
it was just locked doors.

0:19:05

0:19:08

Neil had quickly discovered
that the bird had flown.

0:19:08

0:19:11

The building was
now a building site

0:19:11

0:19:13

but there were still
signs of the business left behind.

0:19:13

0:19:18

They occupied this whole building
here, the reception area.

0:19:18

0:19:21

They employed about 20 people here,

0:19:21

0:19:25

a bank of telephonists,
a bank of will drafters,

0:19:25

0:19:27

as well as Mr Nash and Mr Butcher.

0:19:27

0:19:29

After discovering that the premises
were completely empty,

0:19:29

0:19:34

Neil researched the company further
and discovered

0:19:34

0:19:37

Mary's worst nightmare.

0:19:37

0:19:39

Willmakers of Distinction
had gone into liquidation,

0:19:39

0:19:43

and there were other
cases as well as my own.

0:19:43

0:19:49

So the next port of call for Neil
was to interview the liquidators.

0:19:49

0:19:53

They confirmed that they
had not been satisfied

0:19:53

0:19:55

with the reasons
for the liquidation.

0:19:55

0:19:58

So, Neil set about finding out
exactly who was behind this company.

0:19:58

0:20:03

I knew of Nicholas Butcher. It
became apparent the man in charge

0:20:06

0:20:10

was David Nash.

0:20:10

0:20:12

David Nash was a
well-known businessman

0:20:12

0:20:15

and former Lincoln City Football
Club vice-president.

0:20:15

0:20:19

Searching for further background
information on the company,

0:20:19

0:20:22

Neil paid a visit to their
accountant, who had some growing

0:20:22

0:20:25

concerns about the state of
their accounts.

0:20:25

0:20:28

Taking Neil through the accounts
step by step,

0:20:28

0:20:30

he was able to see how much money
each person had in their estate.

0:20:30

0:20:35

But there was something that
didn't add up.

0:20:35

0:20:37

Large, round-figure amounts

0:20:37

0:20:40

were being transferred from the
supposedly safe trustee account

0:20:40

0:20:43

into the day-to-day bank account
of Willmakers of Distinction.

0:20:43

0:20:47

All these entries in yellow, 2,000,
10,000, and it goes on and on,

0:20:47

0:20:53

on every page of this document,
you can see these monies going in.

0:20:53

0:20:58

Neil could see something was very
wrong and needed further answers.

0:20:58

0:21:02

So, he set out to uncover the wills
relating to all the estates

0:21:02

0:21:06

on the accountant's list.

0:21:06

0:21:08

Meanwhile, Mary had managed to get
hold of David Nash's mobile number.

0:21:08

0:21:13

She wanted the answer to one
question - where was Bert's money?

0:21:13

0:21:17

He said not to be stupid,

0:21:17

0:21:21

that those companies had insurance,
everybody would get money,

0:21:21

0:21:26

Mary was simply being sold
yet another lie.

0:21:26

0:21:31

However, Neil was starting to make
some progress.

0:21:31

0:21:34

Having recovered
the wills from the probate office,

0:21:34

0:21:39

we then start contacting
beneficiaries

0:21:39

0:21:42

to see if they've been paid out,

0:21:42

0:21:43

and there was a story to be told
in each one.

0:21:43

0:21:45

Going through each estate using
the accountant's spreadsheet,

0:21:46

0:21:50

Neil could clearly see

0:21:50

0:21:52

that money due to people quite
simply hadn't been handed over.

0:21:52

0:21:56

Through the liquidators, Neil saw
that Willmakers of Distinction Ltd

0:21:56

0:22:00

had operated a franchise.

0:22:00

0:22:03

David Nash had sold the rights

0:22:03

0:22:05

to trade under the Willmakers
of Distinction name.

0:22:05

0:22:09

Neil managed to track down details
of one of the franchise owners,

0:22:09

0:22:12

who shed further light
on the business.

0:22:12

0:22:15

One other area of criminality
we've discovered

0:22:18

0:22:20

is that they were selling
pre-paid funerals.

0:22:20

0:22:23

People would pay the money,
£1,200, £1,500 for a funeral,

0:22:23

0:22:28

and then they didn't go on and buy
these funerals from the companies

0:22:28

0:22:33

they were brokering for,
they pocketed the money.

0:22:33

0:22:35

With a mountain
of detailed evidence,

0:22:35

0:22:38

it was finally time
for Neil to arrest David Nash.

0:22:38

0:22:42

We arrested David Nash at his home
address, and we searched it.

0:22:45

0:22:48

In the course of searching it

0:22:48

0:22:51

we found various papers.

0:22:51

0:22:52

In amongst those papers,

0:22:52

0:22:54

there was the will for one of
the estates they'd been managing.

0:22:54

0:22:58

But all the paperwork for it was sat
in his garage, in a cardboard box.

0:22:58

0:23:03

With all the evidence in place,
Neil contacted Mary with the news.

0:23:03

0:23:08

Then when I spoke to the police

0:23:08

0:23:10

they said there were several cases
and they were taking them to court.

0:23:10

0:23:13

That's when I realised
that was the end.

0:23:13

0:23:17

But even after all the evidence
was presented to Nash,

0:23:17

0:23:21

he still tried to tough it out.

0:23:21

0:23:23

He was adamant that he was innocent.

0:23:24

0:23:27

However, about a month before the
trial was set, he did plead guilty.

0:23:27

0:23:32

David Nash was convicted
of six counts of theft

0:23:32

0:23:35

and three counts
of fraudulent trading.

0:23:35

0:23:37

He received three-and-a-half years.

0:23:37

0:23:40

One down, one to go.

0:23:42

0:23:44

It didn't take long before Neil
tracked down Nicholas Butcher

0:23:44

0:23:47

and brought him in for questioning.

0:23:47

0:23:51

He went down the same route as Nash,
at first claiming his innocence,

0:23:51

0:23:54

and then changing his plea to guilty
on the day of his trial.

0:23:54

0:23:59

Butcher also got
three-and-a-half years.

0:23:59

0:24:02

He was convicted of the thefts
and the fraudulent tradings

0:24:02

0:24:05

and serves a maximum of
three-and-a-half years.

0:24:05

0:24:08

At last the men who had conned
over £400,000 of cash from customers

0:24:08

0:24:13

were facing jail.

0:24:13

0:24:16

We are at the stage

0:24:16

0:24:18

where we've confiscated assets
following the convictions.

0:24:18

0:24:21

We took £50,000-odd from Mr Nash.

0:24:21

0:24:24

We didn't get an awful lot
from Mr Butcher

0:24:24

0:24:27

because he didn't have
an awful lot.

0:24:27

0:24:29

We took £2,000-odd off him.

0:24:29

0:24:31

Mary, who was due to receive
approximately £40,000,

0:24:32

0:24:35

won't get anything,

0:24:35

0:24:37

apart from a degree of satisfaction.

0:24:37

0:24:40

I'm absolutely delighted, but I
didn't think they got enough time.

0:24:40

0:24:45

Three-and-a-half years just wasn't
enough for what they'd done.

0:24:45

0:24:49

If you're concerned about getting
caught up in a similar scam,

0:24:49

0:24:52

there are things you can do
to help protect yourself.

0:24:52

0:24:56

At the moment,

0:24:56

0:24:57

the safest course of action must be
to go to a solicitor,

0:24:57

0:25:00

who is regulated and will offer
the protection.

0:25:00

0:25:04

For further advice on how to protect
yourselves against scams,

0:25:04

0:25:08

go to the website -

0:25:08

0:25:10

Before we go, there's just time
to tell you

0:25:19

0:25:23

about the latest scams out there.

0:25:23

0:25:25

I've come to meet an expert
from the National Fraud Authority,

0:25:25

0:25:29

to get the lowdown on what you
should be watching out for.

0:25:29

0:25:32

Today, we're looking at scams that
happen via your e-mail.

0:25:32

0:25:35

A lot of people out there will have
received an e-mail, usually,

0:25:40

0:25:45

from a nice gentleman saying that
he's got a lot of money for them,

0:25:45

0:25:49

if they'll help him out.

0:25:49

0:25:51

We are talking astronomical sums.
Millions and millions and millions.

0:25:51

0:25:55

-That's what they hook you in with.

-How much could you lose?

0:25:55

0:25:58

You could pay lots of transactions

0:25:58

0:26:01

amounting to thousands of pounds
and end up with nothing.

0:26:01

0:26:05

So, always be on your guard,

0:26:05

0:26:07

be sceptical of people contacting
you out of the blue

0:26:07

0:26:11

asking for money.

0:26:11

0:26:12

And don't believe
the promise of large sums of cash.

0:26:12

0:26:16

Next, another e-mail scam.

0:26:16

0:26:18

This time it's someone
pretending to be your bank.

0:26:18

0:26:22

They will be asking for your personal
finance details, your passwords,

0:26:22

0:26:27

your credit card details,
that sort of thing,

0:26:27

0:26:29

trying to get you to give your
details to the fraudsters

0:26:29

0:26:33

so they can enter your bank account.

0:26:33

0:26:35

Why do people go for it?

0:26:35

0:26:37

It just looks so good,

0:26:37

0:26:39

Banks never ask for your account
details or passwords via e-mail.

0:26:39

0:26:45

Don't hand them out.

0:26:45

0:26:46

If you're ever unsure,
contact your bank directly.

0:26:46

0:26:49

It doesn't matter how
clever the scam is,

0:26:51

0:26:54

if you recognise the signs,
you'll always be one step ahead.

0:26:54

0:26:58

Stay safe. See you next time.

0:26:58

0:27:00

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

0:27:18

0:27:20

Matt goes to see 86-year-old John, who wanted to do his bit for the environment by installing solar panels on his roof. But after handing over thousands of pounds to conmen, John's faith in people has been severely tested. Plus the will-writing conmen who were banged up after stealing from the dead, and the scams you should look out for in your email inbox.